Imagine being able to promote ketchup to sell French fries, but not being able to sell ketchup without risking arrest. That’s the conundrum faced every day by those who sell sex for a living. Selling sexual performances on DVD or over the Web is legal, but the real thing? Up against the wall, bub: You’re busted!The contradictions that drive the legal regulation of sexuality will be discussed at “$ex for $ale: Prostitution, Government and Regulation,” to be presented by the Sexual Diversity Studies Student Union at the University of Toronto. The conference takes place on March 6th and 7th, 2009 at the downtown U of T campus.

While students and academics pay to *study* sex, it’s illegal for anyone else to pay to experience it themselves. $ex For $ale will examine these inconsistencies, by featuring numerous thought-provoking and downright provocative speakers.

To get a personal understanding, YNOT.com contacted t-girl writer, student and sex worker Nikki. She is speaking at the Saturday conference and, along with events representative Sherrie Q, is also handling conference coordinator duties.

YNOT.com: Who is headlining $ex for $ale?

Nikki: We’ve arranged to have Carol Leigh, aka “Scarlot Harlot,” fly in for the keynote address on Friday. We’ve also arranged a panel with Carol Leigh, Gerald Hannon (formerly of The Body Politic) and detective Wendy Leaver of the Toronto Police Services Sex Crimes Unit. Wendy heads up the Special Victims Section, where sex workers can report violent crimes and sexual assault without feeling marginalized or ignored.

Our Saturday conference consists of Professor Mariana Valverde, who teaches in the Criminology and Sexual Diversity Studies programs; Todd Klinck, former sex worker and co-owner of Goodhandy’s; Valerie Scott from SPOC, the Sex Professionals Of Canada, and Kara Gillies from Maggie’s. I’ll also be presenting on Saturday, talking a little bit about how the t-girl
niche fits into the wider industry as a whole.

We’re hoping to attract a variety of students and community members; basically, anybody that wants to ask questions about the sex industry. Prostitution is a peripheral topic in a lot of courses and programs, but isn’t the focus of any one course. This was a chance to centralize the topic. Obviously we can’t cover everything in two short days, but it gives people a forum to ask questions, and learn things that might never appear in their course textbook.

YNOT.com: Why is it important to hold this conference?

Nikki: Part of it is to dispel myths and stereotypes about desperation and exploitation, because experience in prostitution is highly subjective. Media representation tends to either show the best or the worst parts of the industry, and people have highly polarized views. It’s a topic that evokes
emotion for many people, and we wanted to open up the floor for everyone to talk about it.

If you look through the list of speakers, you’ll see that everyone has a very different view on the subject. There’s a vast range of experiences, which leads to a great variety of perspectives. Nobody would dare call themselves an expert or authority on the topic, but everyone has something valuable to contribute to the conversation. As for me, simply being on the list with these people fills me with pride, and I’m honored to be a small part of that discussion.

YNOT.com: What are the real issues of sex for sale in the 21st century?

Nikki: Personal agency, health and safety, and responsibility for one’s own actions. A big part of the conference will discuss how the government gets involved, from legal prohibition, police enforcement (or lack thereof), even taxation — the government is heavily involved in a variety of ways.

Basically, the real issue is how can you strike a balance between allowing individual freedoms, but also protecting marginalized and vulnerable people? The reality is that not everyone in the sex trade chooses that route, but not everyone is “forced” into it either; how do you walk that fine line between expression and exploitation? That’s one theme of the conference that’s sure to bring out a lot of discussion.

YNOT.com: Finally, what do you hope to achieve by holding this conference?

Nikki: This conference is meant to appeal to anyone interested in the sex industry, as a participant or observer. There’s been a lot of academic discourse around prostitution in recent years, but we’re not limiting the discussion to academics. We want to engage members of the community as well, and six of our eight speakers have worked, or currently work, in the sex trade — myself included.

I hope that some people will leave the conference thinking, “wow, I never looked at it that way before”, which will hopefully incite further discussion down the road. I expect this conference will mean different things to different people; as long as it makes you think about it at all, we’ve achieved our goal. It’s all about starting the conversation: Hopefully, other people will continue
the discussion long after the conference ends.

You can find out more about $ex for $ale by logging onto http://sdsconference.webs.com/ or checking the Facebook group: $ex For $ale: Prostitution, Government, and Regulation.